Recipes

Pasta Fagioli

About this recipe

This has to be one of the finest culinary contributions ever made by Italians. It ranks right up there with pizza, spaghetti, and kissing the cook. Make the broth, use what you need, and then either freeze or refrigerate the rest. P.S. Dice your vegetables before starting.

Cover and bring to a boil. Then turn heat down to low and simmer for 45-60 minutes (it's ready when the carrot is cooked). When done, cool, and either use right away (as per below) or freeze to eat another day.

Cook large soup noodles (e.g., tubetti, shells) or rice in salted water. When they’re three-quarters cooked, put some of the water into a side bowl. Add broth to noodles and let them cook together until the noodles are ready. If the soup looks too thick, add back some reserve water from the side bowl. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Don’t use too much meat—it ruins the soup.

Instead of beef, you can use broken-up sausage.

Use dried romano beans if you can. Soak 1 cup dried beans in water overnight, and then boil in fresh water for 60-90 minutes and add in place of canned.

A popular variation is to use chickpeas, add 4 cups chicken stock (with the tomatoes), maybe skip the meat, add some diced potatoes, and use broken spaghetti as your noodles—because of the stock, use less salt.